SWAT team ends brief standoff with DV suspect in North Spokane on Friday

Spokane police peacefully ended a brief standoff in the Garland District on Friday morning with a man they feared could put a domestic violence victim in danger.

The SWAT team was called to a home where 41-year-old Joseph Piapot had violated a court order to stay away from the victim shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Police believed a domestic violence victim could be at risk inside the Wall Street home, according to a news release.

Early efforts to contact Piapot and negotiate his voluntary exit from the home were unsuccessful, prompting police to obtain a search warrant at about 1:30 a.m. on Friday and enter the home with a K-9 police dog.

Inside, officers were able to quickly locate the female victim and a juvenile but could not immediately find Piapot.

The K-9 eventually tracked Piapot to a small gap between the home’s interior and exterior walls, police said.

Piapot surrendered without altercation when he was found by police.

He was booked into Spokane County Jail on two counts of violating a domestic violence order and two counts of residential burglary in violation of a domestic violence order. As of Friday morning, he is not eligible for bond.